Stromberg Architectural

Situated on a serene 80-acre estate the St. John Chrysostomos Monastery is a sight to behold. This Greek Orthodox monastery, located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, echoes its Grecian roots with elegant, red-tile domes and roofing. However, while the tiled domes appear to be terra-cotta, they are actually architectural fiberglass, or GFRP.

GFRP Can Imitate Any Building Material

Architectural fiberglass is an extremely versatile building material. At the St. John Chrysostomos Monastery, architectural fiberglass is used to imitate terra-cotta tile, but that application barely scratches the surface of the many building materials that GFRP can emulate. Architectural fiberglass can be used to imitate granite, marble, brick, copper, gold or even wood. Many of these traditional building materials are expensive, heavy and difficult to work with. Architectural fiberglass looks just like the real thing, and comes pre-fabricated and ready to install.

The St John Chrysostomos Monastery, founded in 1994, is a monastery for nuns of the Greek Orthodox Church. It is under the Bishopric of the Diocese of Chicago, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. It is well known for the production of exquisite religious works of art, especially in the areas of ornaments, icons and plates.

The grounds of the monastery are a destination for religious pilgrims. Serenity, beauty and peace abound in this 80-acre estate. The site features a 9,000 square foot Byzantine Church and 18,000 square feet of support facilities. Of particular pride to its residents are the elegant tiled domes topped with crosses that create the monastery’s signature look. These pieces were built by Stromberg Architectural Products.

Stromberg built the domes using tiles composed of our Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP). GFRP has proven ideal for the replacement of terra cotta tiles in numerous past projects. As the monastery is blanketed in snow during winter months, GFRP is a much more prudent choice than true terra cotta for its ability to withstand widely changing temperature and weather conditions. In addition to enduring the change in temperature and conditions ranging from hot summers to cold winters, Stromberg GFRP was also passed the hurricane test, as elements created by Stromberg in the Bahamas have withstood the brunt of a Category 5 storm.